Senate keeps work weeks short -- REID: GOOD CHANCE OF KEYSTONE VOTE -- Pryor, the neutral Senate incumbent -- Immigration’s war of words -- BENGHAZI IS BACK -- We’ve got you covered for WHCD weekend

THE SENATE’S LONG WEEKENDS: Yours truly noticed the Senate hasn’t voted on a Friday since December. “It’s 8 a.m. on a Friday. Do you know where your senators are? Probably not in Washington, where it’s been months since the Senate conducted real business on a Friday, apart from brief housekeeping and pro forma sessions. On Thursday, senators voted in the early afternoon and most exited the Capitol about 2:30 p.m., not to return until late Monday afternoon. To be fair, the House had left an hour earlier...

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-- Not everyone’s happy with the short workweeks, believing that staying in the Capitol for longer periods of time will cut down on partisan grandstanding. ‘I’m here to do my work. I’ll work whenever you know, Friday, Saturday or Sunday,’ said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). ‘It’s almost routine. We’re done here Thursday, our staff schedules us for Friday and Saturday. I think we should be here on Friday, doing the work here Friday and then try to get to know each other.’ ‘It’s amazing how people’s zeal seems to vaporize when Friday rolls around,’ said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

-- It could all be coming to an end, though: “Republicans are ‘very serious’ about working five days a week in 2015 if they take the Senate, Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, hoping to ‘use what’s colloquially known as the fatigue factor to let people sort of self-select who’s going to hang in there and fight for amendments and who’s not’ … ‘One-third of their folks or more will be up if they’re in the majority in 2016,’ said Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska). ‘There will only be 10 of us. So they want to work five days? We’ll work seven days.’” http://politi.co/1o9yOtw

KEYSTONE VOTE MIGHT ACTUALLY HAPPEN -- Amy Harder and Kristina Peterson write for WSJ: "’There's a 75% to 80% chance we can work something out on Keystone,’ Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said Thursday. He confirmed that the chamber likely would vote on a stand-alone Keystone bill, instead of making it an amendment to another measure. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Mary Landrieu, (D., La.), and Sen. John Hoeven, (R., N.D.), introduced legislation earlier Thursday that … has support from all Senate Republicans and 11 Democrats, including six up for re-election. Ms. Landrieu said Thursday it was her ‘understanding’ that Mr. Reid would bring that bill to the floor for a vote, adding that there are ‘ongoing negotiations’ with the White House on the Keystone vote. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that Congress should stay out of the process.” http://on.wsj.com/1pU8Sqk

-- But is David Vitter and his eponymously named Obamacare amendment still an issue? Maybe not. He offered to drop this Vitter amendment crusade if Reid allows a binding vote on Keystone. The Hill: http://bit.ly/1i03dcE

-- In all honesty: Nothing brings out the unsolicited, off-the-record missives from Hill aides to Huddle like Vitter’s amendment to slash federal health contributions to Capitol Hill staffers.

PRYOR KNOWLEDGE -- WaPo’s David Fahrenthold checks in on Arkansas Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor’s reelection campaign: “The whole country’s partisan battle could turn on the campaigning ability of this unusual senator, who has spent years telling people that partisan battles are a waste of time … Pryor is hoping voters would rather have a Democrat with no great crusades than a Republican with the wrong ones. ‘I’m really the most independent senator in Washington,’ Pryor told a group of about 25 supporters here in the rice-country town of Hazen. ‘I’m not there to represent the president or his party. I’m not there to oppose the president or his party. . . . My job is to represent Arkansas.’” http://wapo.st/SepRF6

-- The senator’s centrist appeal is really what Huddle has found Pryor to be all about. It’s why he voted against the Senate rules change and why he seemed eager in a recent interview to work with a prospective GOP majority if they take the Senate this fall. Pryor told Huddle: “I mean, I just have a good relationship with the Republican side. I really hope I can get a lot done with them as long as I’m here, whether it’s this year or the next 6 years. I really look forward to working with them on a whole range of issues.”

IMMIGRATION WAR OF WORDS -- POLITICO’s Seung Min-Min: Gang of Eight member Chuck Schumer “sharply criticized House Republicans on immigration reform Thursday, accusing the GOP of stalling an overhaul by handing the ‘gavel of leadership on immigration’ to outspoken reform critic Rep. Steve King … ‘My guess is that Republican stomachs churn when they see Steven King spew that kind of rhetoric,’ Schumer said. ‘But rather than stand up to him, they give him the keys to the kingdom of immigration reform.’” http://politi.co/1iKgD8k

-- Meanwhile, across the Capitol: Not long after Schumer’s speech, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office said that House Republicans made Schumer’s point for him on Thursday afternoon. Pelosi’s aides distributed excerpts of California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s floor speech, in which the Republican said that “people who are here illegally should go home … don’t give jobs and benefits that belong to the American people to foreigners who are here illegally. That’s the solution.”

BENGHAZI, BENGHAZI, BENGHAZI -- POLITICO’s Lauren French: “Benghazi is back. House Republicans on Thursday seized upon newly released documents from the White House to accuse the Obama administration of again lying about its role in drafting talking points about the 2012 terrorist attack in Libya — even going as far as to suggest that the White House behaved criminally.” http://politi.co/1mkAbso

-- The Hill’s Mario Trujillo: “Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday called on Secretary of State John Kerry to testify as to why a newly revealed email prepping Susan Rice for a series of television interviews was not handed over to Congress last year … ‘If the White House won’t explain it, Secretary Kerry should come to the Capitol to explain why he defied an official congressional subpoena,’ Boehner said in a statement. ‘And the White House needs to understand that this investigation will not end until the entire truth is revealed and justice and accountability are served.’” http://bit.ly/1kvpRs3

-- Pelosi went all Pelosi on reporters who asked her about Benghazi, Roll Caller Emma Dumain reports: “‘Diversion, subterfuge. Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. Why aren’t we talking about something else?’ Pelosi asked. ‘If you all want to sit around and talk about Benghazi, you can sit around and talk about Benghazi … The fact is that’s a subterfuge and they don’t want to talk about jobs, growth, immigration reform, voting rights, you name it.”’ http://bit.ly/1n9Zx9w

-- Dude: Former NSC spokesman Tommy Vietor told Fox News’s Bret Baier: “Dude, this was like two years ago.” Baier: “Dude, it is the thing that everybody is talking about.” Dude. http://fxn.ws/1na0Wgi

@StewSays: #ProTip: If you want to be taken seriously and/or are debating a serious topic in a TV interview, don't address the host as "dude."

MAKING MOVES: Sen. Patty Murray’s Communications Director (and OSU fan) Matt McAlvanah emails reporters and staffers: “After a long, adventure-filled ride with Senator Murray over the past 8 years (almost to the day) I’ll be moving on at the end of this week. As of Monday, May 5th I will be joining the team at USTR as the Assist. USTR for Public and Media Affairs ...Going forward Eli Zupnick, who most of you know, will be taking over as Communications Director in the Murray personal office.”

HELLO FRIDAY. Welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. I’m filling in for Scott today, so send all your juicy tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to beverett@politico.com. If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @burgessev.

My new followers include @napsyhos and @emalfarb, although it seems I lost plenty of followers in the last 24 hours as well

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are OUT. Party time.

AROUND THE HILL - The MPAA, Microsoft and ABC News host a “Creativity Conference” today with Vice President Joe Biden, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Morgan Spurlock (of “Super Size Me” fame). It kicks off at 8:30 a.m. at the Newseum.

THERE’S SOME DINNER THIS WEEKEND -- And President Barack Obama is unlikely to play along with the self-deprecating vibe, POLITICO’s Todd S. Purdum writes: “When it comes to the sine qua non of political humor — devastating self-deprecation — Obama is less skilled or at least less willing to play an A game, as this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner is once again likely to show … Obama is much more likely to reserve his sharpest flashes of wit for his adversaries, antagonists and even (in a kind of throwback Henny Youngmanesque style) for the wife he invariably portrays as hectoring.” http://politi.co/1nPxO0f

-- And times have changed for WHCD photogs, Lucy McCalmont reports: “Mark Wilkins, a freelance photographer whose photos have appeared in People Magazine and Us Weekly and who will be snapping away this weekend, noted that the annual Bloomberg and Vanity Fair after party is one of the weekend’s most star-studded events, but don’t expect to see him hanging around outside and hoping to grab pictures … ‘You used to be able to stand right there, you’d get people walking. Now they put you across the street, barricades.’” http://politi.co/PWT7hH

DAVID RIVERA IS BACK, BABY: The Miami Herald’s Marc Caputo and Luisa Yanez have the scoop: “David Rivera, the former Miami congressman under investigation in a complicated campaign-financing scheme, said Thursday night that he intends to run again for the United States House of Representatives … ‘I will not answer to the lies of the Miami Herald,’ Rivera said on the political talk show Ahora con Oscar Haza. ‘I will not deviate from the issues and [will] defeat Joe Garcia.’” http://bit.ly/1ucQEzZ

2016 implications -- Manu Raju’s story from two years ago: “[Marco] Rubio is giving a full-throated endorsement to Rivera, raising money for him and defending a man who served with him in the trenches of Florida politics … ‘One of things that’s startled me is that only in Washington are people expected to turn their backs on friends when things may not be going well for them,’ Rubio told POLITICO. ‘That’s certainly not the way I want to operate.’” http://politi.co/1n4Vq0J

THE SENATE’S GOOD GUYS: If you’ve ever felt a sudden smile on your face as you shuttle between the Senate and the Russell building, you probably know the retiring Darryl Chappelle, who Huddle hopes is enjoying his first day of retirement this morning. ABC’s Arlette Saenz reports: “For 41 years, Chappelle has worked in the Senate, starting in the night labor division of the Senate Superintendents office in 1972 … Chappelle is retiring [Thursday]— prompting senators to offer touching tributes to the train driver on the Senate floor. ‘He showed all of us the power of the small gesture. He reminded us that when it’s all said and done what really matters is how we deal with each other,’ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.” http://abcn.ws/1jlwtuZ

THURSDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Chris Armstrong was first to correctly answer that Connecticut’s Roger Sherman was only member of the Continental Congress who signed all four of the great state papers: the Continental Articles of Association, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and Constitution.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Chris Armstrong has today’s question: One signer of the Declaration of Independence died in a duel. Who was he, and who killed him? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at beverett@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says "Sign Up." http://www.politico.com/huddle/

** A message from the Stop The HIT Coalition: The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) drives up health care costs for small businesses, seniors, state Medicaid programs and middle-income Americans. The HIT is estimated to cost hardworking American families an additional $5,000 over a decade. And since the cost and consequences of the HIT increase over time, America’s small businesses and hardworking families are facing a bigger HIT every year. This translates to real jobs for businesses and real wages for families. That’s why the Stop The HIT Coalition – representing the nation’s small business owners and their employees – is working hard to repeal the HIT before it causes even more damage. Congress, please stop the HIT. Once and for all. http://bit.ly/1iE6tfW **

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About The Author

John Burgess Everett is a congressional reporter for POLITICO. He previously was a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro, Web producer, helping run POLITICO’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, and a contributor to the On Media blog.